http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_7705432Other news stories dominate
By Joanne Ostrow
Denver Post TV Critic
Article Last Updated: 12/13/2007 07:11:16 PM MST
Sit through a random newscast or a half-hour of cable TV news, or listen to your favorite radio talker. In other words, take the temperature of America via the media and identify what's missing.
Is America at war with immigrants? Is the mortgage crisis the hottest topic in America? Is the public transfixed by the latest candidates' debate?
Don't look now but there's a war on.
The war in Iraq is the biggest nonstory of the moment, an overarching situation that is largely missing in action from the daily media rundown.
The awful phrase that news managers, producers and editors use to describe what's happening is "war fatigue." That's not meant to suggest that soldiers are tired of fighting or that military hospitals are tired of patching up mutilated bodies. The phrase refers to consumers' mind-set.
It's much easier to watch the cute holiday gift guides or rundowns on the latest technology must-haves.
There's no doubt, Iraq is declining as a media story.